Monday, October 29, 2012

Surviving Hurricane Sandy with Pumpkins

A little bit of a change is due. Sports and Pop Culture takes a back seat on days like this. I am writing this while hunkering down in the basement as Hurricane Sandy barrels into Atlantic City - some 300 miles away. They are calling it a hurricane within a Noreaster. A Category 2 Hurricane a couple of days before November? That really bums me out. And no matter what you call it, it is just a pain in the neck.

Hurricane Sandy from the Back Door

The kids are home from school, the trees are blowing menacingly outside, blown by a South Wind that threatens our house with giant trees that I never liked in the first place, and the Weather Channel has been on more in the last 12 hours than the last 12 months. I'm closely monitoring the water levels here in the basement and I'm searching for batteries, candles and flashlights that work. Damn these corroded batteries! Oh - by the way - no more Governor Cuomo and no more Jim Cantore and Mike Siedel!

But when you live in a seaside community like we do, just three miles from some of the most famous beaches in the Northeast, these kinds of inconveniences are the cost of doing business here. And it's not like this is the first rodeo. The Blizzard of 78, the No Name Storm, Hurricane Gloria and Hurricane Bob - even Hurricane Irene last August all caused the same consternation in these parts. So much so, that weathermen and reporters alike come to our Town to report on the flooding and the waves. I see the same old salty seamen interviewed on these stations with every storm. Just like clockwork.

But back to the kids. They just got done playing football games the day before (as the storm was just starting to kick up) and were excited for the day off from school. A lot more excited than we were. But after about 3 hours of watching TV and playing video games, their excitement turned into boredom. Thankfully, with this "Frankenstorm" came some pumpkin carving.

Even a window blowing in didn't stop the carving activities. It just freaked them out until Dad repaired the situation. (Cue This Old House music)

Now Pumpkin carving means something a little bit different for everyone. For us, pumpkin carving means some nasty pumpkins and kid free for all as the little pumpkin carving knives are wielded like little gremlin people knives. And it occupied them while the wind was blowing and the power was flickering on and off.